The horse has the largest eyes of any land animal. A horse can also see completely around its entire body except for small blind spots directly in front of its face, underneath its head, and directly behind itself. [..]

If you don’t have a cast-iron skillet, use a 9-inch square baking pan; cool bread in pan on a rack for 10 minutes, then invert and cool 10 minutes more before serving. PREP: 10 minutes TOTAL TIME: 35 minutes SERVINGS: 10 [..]

Differences between gophers and groundhogs. A gopher is a type of rodent which is native to North and Central America while a groundhog, which is also known as a woodchuck, is native to the United States. Gophers show their teeth even when their mouths are closed, [..]

February 2nd – Groundhog Day February 5th – Chinese New Year Celebration. 4:00pm @ Alpha Conference Centre February 14th – Valentines Day February 17th – Family Day February 20th – Alpha Movie Night February 22nd – Ski Day [..]

The very first St. Patrick’s Day parade was not in Ireland. It was in Boston in 1737. Green is associated with Saint Patrick’s Day because it is the colour of spring, of Ireland, and of the shamrock and is the true colour of beer. We just dye beer yellow 364 […] [..]

SKILL LEVEL: Easy PREP: 10 minutes TOTAL TIME: 20 minutes SERVINGS: 12 My mom made these Unbaked Cookies often when I was growing up, so they hold a certain youthful charm that puts me in the Easter mood. [..]

The origins of Father’s Day. It was while listening to a Mother’s Day Sermon in 1909 that the idea of Father’s Day suddenly struck Spokane, Washington resident Sonora Dodd. She wanted to honor her own father, William Smart, who was well-deserving of a special day as a widowed farmer left […] [..]

Canada became The Dominion of Canada on July 1st, 1867. Each year July 1st is a national holiday called Canada Day. Before 1982 Canada Day had been known as Dominion Day, First of July or Confederation Day. Canada Day celebrates the events that occurred on July 1, 1867, when the […] [..]

Marilyn Bell was the first person to swim across Lake Ontario and later swam the English Channel. Bell started her swim across Lake Ontario at virtually the same time as world famous USA long-distance swimmer, Florence Chadwick. The Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) in Toronto had offered Chadwick $10,000 to swim […] [..]

Shaker Farhat, department head of clinical microbiology, has been invited to present his research at one of the top and most prestigious U.S. medical schools, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (New York), on August 8th, 2014. Alpha’s efforts and collaboration for the advancement and [..]

Can a car chase be exciting even if there are no cops involved and nothing crashes? Taylor Hackford’s Against All Odds proves that it can be, with this mad race along Los Angeles’ Sunset Boulevard between a Ferrari 308 GTS Quattrovalvole and a Porsche 911SC. The scene looks seamless but […] [..]

In 1931, the company began placing Coca-Cola ads in popular magazines. Coca-Cola commissioned Michigan-born illustrator Haddon Sundblom to paint the ads. For inspiration, Sundblom turned to Clement Clark Moore’s 1822 poem “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas”. [..]

Dear Sponsor, P.J. Groenke Racing completed our second full season of competition in the Pirelli World Challenge Series from Thursday, September 11th to Saturday, September 13th headlining the Energy Solutions Utah Grand Prix at Miller Motorsports Park located in Tooele, UT. [..]

The dream is always the same. In the mid 1990s, Lewis Johnsen began searching the internet for pictures of the 928 used in Tom Cruise’s breakout film, Risky Business. Johnsen, who talked his older sister into taking him to see the film when he was but 14 years old, had […] [..]

The Risky Business crew sourced its “primary driver” from Lee Klinger Porsche in Chicago — the same dealership that appears in the movie. At the time, more 928s were sold through Lee Klinger — known as the Porsche Exchange today — than anywhere else in the country. Says Johnsen: “Before they […] [..]

The second of two 928s used for driving scenes was a 1979 928 with a five-speed manual transmission, 16-inch alloy wheels, and an all-gold interior. Avnet claims to have taught Tom Cruise how to drive a stick-shift in this car. Since it was a pre-1981 model, it didn’t come with […] [..]

Now that Johnsen knew exactly how many 928s were used for the film, he set out to track down the “primary driver,” the 1981 automatic car — with VIN number in hand. After a total of eight rejection letters from the Illinois Department of Motor Vehicles and countless unsuccessful internet […] [..]

“I didn’t have much money left to spend, so I brought the car to a local Maaco paint place and had a single-stage paint job done on it,” says Johnsen. “It kind of worked out, though, because it only had a single-stage paint job on it when it was in […] [..]

How much is a celebrity pedigree worth? In the case of a 1979 Porsche 928, about $40,000. One that Tom Cruise drove in “Risky Business” — most memorably in a chase scene with Guido the pimp—sold for $49,200 at a recent auction of Hollywood memorabilia. That’s roughly five times more […] [..]

In “Risky Business,” Tom Cruise’s character Joel kicks o the chase scene with Guido the pimp by turning to his friends and saying, “Miles, I think I can take him.” The car was green when it first arrived on set, but was painted gold by the film’s production department, the […] [..]

He considered the Porsche 911, on the other hand, to be too mundane, as it is relatively common for a high-end sports car. The larger, more luxurious 928 split the difference perfectly. Today, however, a 928 is much less desirable than a 911 of the same vintage. Though pricing can […] [..]

The ’80 GTSi featured Bosch Digiplex fuel injection (replacing four Weber carburetors). This dropped the HP to 205 (from 240), but also decreased emissions. The ’84 QV introduced four valve cylinder heads for the Dino 3-liter V8 engine, which increased the HP to around 230 (but also added more weight). […] [..]

All of the original Magnum P.I. Ferraris were auctioned o when the series ended in 1988. Larry Manetti bought one of the early GTS’. He reportedly still owns it. One of the cars, a ’78 308 GTS, is on display at the Cars of the Stars Motor Museum in Keswich, Cumbria, […] [..]

IT’S HARD TO IMAGINE JAMES BOND BEHIND THE WHEEL OF ANYTHING BUT AN ASTON MARTIN. IT’S A LOVE AFFAIR BETWEEN TWO BRITISH ICONS THAT’S SET TO LAST, SAYS DAVE CALHOUN. THE PAGES OF IAN FLEMING’S NOVEL GOLDFINGER — the author’s seventh James Bond novel — are where the enduring romance […] [..]

After Goldfinger, Aston Martin models would make nine more appearances in Bond films, although some were more fleeting than others. The DB5 returned in Thunderball (1965), now featuring a rear-facing water cannon and, most memorably, a jetpack in the boot that allowed Connery’s Bond to lift off at a crucial […] [..]

The film used both the coupe and volante versions of the car. The Bond films, of course, have always had to compete with the ever evolving technologies of other movie genres, so the car was also fitted with a laser straight from sci-fi that could destroy other vehicles from a […] [..]

In his last film as 007, Die Another Day (2002), Brosnan drives a new Aston Martin V12 Vanquish. The car was as stylish and iconic as ever and was equipped with some remarkable new gadgets. When Q (John Cleese) shows Bond the car (“the ultimate in British engineering”), he also […] [..]

With Casino Royale in 2006, the producers took the Bond story back to the beginning, telling how Bond acquired the DB5 by winning the car in a poker game. Elsewhere in the film, he drives the brand new DBS—rolling it seven times in one record-breaking stunt (an air-pressure gun underneath […] [..]

On Her Majesty’s Secret Service: Aston Martin DBS A new-age Aston for the new-age Bond… Text: Keith Adams November 2008 ‘There’s no need to hurry; we have all the time in the world’ – a line delivered with such emotion at the end of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service that […] [..]

At the start of the film, James Bond, played for the first time by Timothy Dalton, is driving ‘B549 WUU’ a V8 Volante with Cumberland Grey coachwork and upholstered in black leather. This car was in fact the personal transport of Victor Gauntlett, the Chairman of AML. This car, even […] [..]

According to special effects supervisor, John Richardson, the decision to use Aston Martin occurred late into production, resulting in problems obtaining? vehicles. With an 18 month waiting list for Aston Martin’s V8 Vantage Volante, the production team sourced and bought three used Vantages for filming. While one was being outfitted with […] [..]

Just like the DB5 before it, the V8 had many gadgets. Jet engine booster rocket, behind the rear number plate Ice tyres with spikes emerging through the treads by compressed air Retractable outriggers for use on snow and ice, which emerge from the sills A pair of heat seeking missiles […] [..]

During the build run of Vantage Volantes 27 rather special cars appeared. Based on styling requests submitted by His Royal Highness, the Prince Charles, they became known as Prince of Wales (P.o.W.) specification Vantage Volantes. Visually they were more subtle in appearance, but not in performance. The Volante’s elegant lines […] [..]

17 September 2014 – Tonight, on the 50th anniversary of the World Premiere of Goldfinger, a unique 24k gold-plated third scale replica of James Bond’s iconic Aston Martin DB5 was sold in a special online sale to benefit the NSPCC by Christie’s and EON Productions for £55,000. It was bought […] [..]

A unique Aston Martin DB5 is going under the hammer for charity on September 17 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the 007 caper Goldfinger – the first James Bond film to feature the famous British sports car. Bond film creator EON Productions has commissioned a one-off, 24 carat gold-plated […] [..]

The Aston Martin DBS V12 is a high performance GT sports car from the UK manufacturer Aston Martin. Aston has used the DBS name once before on their 1967-72 grand tourer coupe. The modern car replaces the 2004 Aston Martin Vanquish S as the flagship of the marque. The Aston […] [..]

Behind-the-scenes on Quantum of Solace Remember that epic car chase between Bond’s DBS and pursuing Alfa 159s? We had a look during filming… Reality can get a bit slippery on a film set. An Italian with the kind of face you’d find on a Roman bust, has just emerged from […] [..]

Gary Powell, stunt co-ordinator on the film, doesn’t need me to point that out. He knows that even the most meticulous planning isn’t fool-proof, that a calculated risk is still a risk. But having come from a family of stuntmen, Powell was being thrown off horses and out of vans […] [..]

“We’re not going hand-held, like with the Bourne films. We want a different effect with Bond. But we want to be close, see the tension in the eyes.” So more polished, then, but not the high gloss of a film like GoldenEye. Some Bond fans remain uncomfortable with this, believing […] [..]

Dry Another Day: Bond’s Aston Martin crashes into lake – on its way to movie set As the £134,000 Aston Martin plunged into Lake Garda, onlookers might have been forgiven for thinking they were watching filming for the new James Bond movie. In fact, they weren’t far wrong. Except that […] [..]

Perfect for its time… “Oh, I see you’ve managed to get the Lotus back together again,” Bond quips to Q after being presented with his second Esprit of the film. Once again, Bond found himself a Lotus owner: this time a more potent Esprit Turbo – Hethel’s alternative to the […] [..]

The Lotus Esprit S1 (or Series 1) is a sports car that was built by Lotus in the United Kingdom between 1976 and 1978. The S1 was launched in October 1975 at the Paris Auto Show, and went into production in June 1976, replacing the Europa in the Lotus model lineup. […] [..]

The Rinspeed Splash The Rinspeed Splash is a concept amphibian vehicle with hydrofoil design capable of 45 knots on water or nearly 200 km/h on land. Propelled by a 750 cc two cylinder turbo-charged engine burning natural gas which supplies 140 hp (100 kW) at 7000 rpm and weighing just […] [..]

Tech billionaire and Hyperloop creator pays nearly $1m for iconic vehicle with plans to make its movie transformation a reality Billionaire tech entrepreneur and investor Elon Musk has bought James Bond’s iconic Lotus Esprit vehicle from The Spy Who Loved Me, with the intention of making its movie transformation from […] [..]

Land Rover reveals Transparent Bonnet virtual imaging concept. New level of driver awareness with a ‘see-through’ augmented reality view of the terrain ahead, making the front of the car ‘virtually’ invisible from inside the cabin. Technology provides full visibility of what is underneath and in front of the car, with […] [..]

As first reported by Mashable, Mercedes-Benz has created a new commercial to promote a vehicle that uses F-CELL hydrogen technology. Designed to advertise the car’s ability to produce zero emissions and protect the environment, Mercedes-Benz covered the automobile in several mats of LEDs on the driver side of the car […] [..]

The pilgrims didn’t use forks; they ate with spoons, knives, and their fingers. What does a President traditionally do for a turkey? He pardons it. Since 1947, the National Turkey Federation has presented a live turkey and two dressed turkeys to The President. [..]

JORDAN CHITTLEY The Globe and Mail Published Monday, Nov. 17 2014, 11:21 AM EST Last updated Monday, Nov. 17 2014, 4:30 PM EST The world’s first real-life Batmobile, a custom car built in 1963, is looking for a new home and is about to go under the hammer. The car, which started […] [..]